Too many crimes are not prosecuted

January 13, 2009|By DARIA WALSH

Two recent news articles in The Tribune should get the attention of every South Bend resident. A Dec. 4 article, "Few dog fighting cases prosecuted in local courts," details the frustration of local animal protection officials that animal abuse cases are almost never prosecuted in South Bend. "Animal officials say they have visited the property of suspected fighters dozens of times and removed injured dogs again and again, but the cases always seem to fall through." And, "It was almost constant ... It was like pulling teeth," a former St. Joseph County Humane Society director said in reference to animal abuse cases not being prosecuted. Then on Dec. 6, there was a story about a 2-year old South Bend child who died allegedly as a result of severe physical abuse by her father. This tragic story explains that officials knew there was a problem as the child "was taken to a hospital in December 2006, the year of her birth ... and was found to have a broken clavicle, broken ribs and a dislocated elbow ... no one was criminally charged". People wonder why South Bend crime statistics are so high. Perhaps it is because St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak will not prosecute a crime unless he is sure he will get a conviction? Perhaps it is because Dvorak will only prosecute slam-dunk cases so he can claim that he has a 90 percent conviction rate when it is reelection time? Local rape reports are a prime example. Since 2004, according to crime reports compiled by the FBI, a total of 477 women in St. Joseph County have reported to the police that they were raped. South Bend consistently has one of the highest percentage of rape reports in Indiana. And yet, of these 477 reports of rape received by police, there have been only five rape convictions in St. Joseph County. A few more of these 477 rape cases were reduced to lower crimes or the defendant was found not guilty, but I believe that the vast majority are simply ignored by the police and prosecutor. If you rape a woman in South Bend, your chances of getting away with this major, violent felony are very, very good. These extremely low prosecution rates result in more crime and even fewer prosecutions. I am concerned that when the police see that the prosecutor won't bother with animal cruelty, child abuse and rape crimes, they wonder why they should spend their time investigating these crimes. Criminals thus go free and commit even more crimes. I know people in South Bend want to think that they are getting good police protection here and the prosecutor is doing a good job, but I think local crime statistics ("Statistics show more crime in South Bend than Gary," WSBT-TV, June 13, 2007) and situations like the Tribune articles described tell a very different story. The voters need to tell Dvorak to worry more about prosecuting crimes and less about getting re-elected. Daria Walsh lives in South Bend.